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Criteria cited for closing Gunther
Was it minimal impact to students, or cost savings the committee was after?
The North Bellmore School District’s Committee to Explore Educational Options voted to close Gunther school by applying research it had done to specific criteria it had developed months earlier.
The vote got an unexpected surprise, however, when six committee members voted to close Newbridge Road School, casting aside the criteria and believing more cost efficiencies would have been realized in closing a larger school.
• The committee determined, for example, using a formula suggested by Dr. Fowler of 85% capacity, that Gunther students – at 239 – could be accommodated at both Dinkelmeyer and Martin Avenue schools with valuable room to spare for future growth in both schools, before reaching the 85% capacity level.
By moving students from other schools, such as Dinkelmeyer, Saw Mill Road, Newbridge Road, Park Avenue and Martin Avenue, 85% capacity would be more difficult to achieve, with less room for growth.
• Because both Dinkelmeyer and Martin Avenue have large-size classrooms with bathrooms, they most closely fit Gunther’s large-size classrooms with large-size bathrooms.
• Gunther has the smallest capacity available – 400 – to absorb students from other schools. Gunther also has the smallest student body – 239 – that would be moved, keeping student impact throughout the district minimal. Saw Mill Road has 512 students, Newbridge Road 394 students and Dinkelmeyer 351, by comparison.
Said committee member Ann Marie Antener, “There is more wiggle room in large-capacity schools” to absorb more students.
Read more criteria in Wednesday's edition of Bellmore Life.
